Will he be Deadpool's Joker?

By
Joshua Yehl

With the Deadpool: Bad Blood original graphic novel hitting on May 17, we hopped on the phone to talk with Rob Liefeld about how he’s using this new story to finally introduce an original archenemy for Wade Wilson..

We also have the details for Liefeld’s launch day book signing in Los Angeles, CA at the end of this article.

Art by Rob Liefeld. (Marvel Comics)

Liefeld, the character’s co-creator (with writer Fabian Nicieza), came up with the idea for Bad Blood’s story 15 years ago and now he’s finally getting to tell it. It sees Deadpool try to complete a mission, only to be blindsided by a mysterious, hulking brute who he calls “Thumper.” This assailant has been after Deadpool for years, and now Wade sets out to get to the bottom of who he is and why he won’t stop hunting him.

“Deadpool does not have an arch-nemesis of note. If you look at Deadpool's history, he's either fighting lots of different versions of himself, he's killing the Marvel Universe, or he's battling villains from Howard the Duck,” Liefeld said. “He does not have a rich rogues gallery and somewhere along the way it was neglected. I can't speak to why there isn't one. But if you're going to say a villain of Deadpool's, I'm going to tell you what other character's rogues he came from. There was a three-parter where he battled Doctor Bong. Doctor Bong has a bell for a head and he hits it and it goes [makes loud bell bonging noise] -- he's from Howard the Duck. When he squares off against the Serpent Society, well those are Captain America villains. When he battles the Taskmaster, that's an Avengers villain. My whole thing is, where's his arch-nemesis? This has been gnawing at me for 15 years, so they [Marvel Comics] were wonderful to let me delve into this.”

Art by Rob Liefeld. (Marvel Comics)

Liefeld wouldn’t say much about Thumper, but he did tease what to expect in the OGN, including the appearance of some other popular characters he’s had a hand in creating.

“During the story, you will discover that [Deadpool] and Thumper have crossed paths in the past, and it's always that Deadpool is ambushed, and Thumper understands that Deadpool can't be killed, so he beats him to the highest threshold of pain that Deadpool can feel and then leaves him. You'll see that Deadpool remembers this guy foiling him on some past missions, but he seems to appear and disappear very quickly. So now in this story we open up that they are after the same MacGuffin, and so this time Deadpool is pretty determined to get his item back and to solve this mystery, so then we flash back to 1990 and do an entire sequence that has all the X-Force characters from that era and do a nice fun flashback that sheds some light on Thumper,” Liefeld said.

Art by Rob Liefeld. (Marvel Comics)

The OGN is drawn entirely by Liefeld (the last time he drew a Deadpool comic was 10 issues of Deadpool Corps in 2010-11) and was scripted by co-writers Chris Sims and Chad Bowers, who worked off of Liefeld’s story.

“The advantage of a graphic novel is it's 100 straight pages. No monthly breaks, no cliffhangers, no catch-up pages between 30-day installments, so we really tried to give the fans what they want. When I do the convention circuit, I hear what the fans like and dislike, what they want more of … The book is action-packed, it is funny as hell, we put some really funny bits in there. The dialogue and the script is sharp and fantastic and propels the story forward and I think we end with 'Woah!' It's up to the fans if this is his Sabretooth or his Joker or what determination they will enjoy Thumper,” Liefeld said.

As for where the title came from, it was Bowers who pitched it to Liefeld because it spoke to the bad blood between Deadpool and Thumper, but it was seeing Taylor Swift wearing Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool costume on social media that convinced him it truly was the right title for the book.

"You got Taylor Swift wearing a Deadpool costume that was used in the movie by the guy who played Deadpool. I think it was the universe smiling on us,” he recalled.

The details for the signing are below:

ROB LIEFELD - "DEADPOOL BAD BLOOD" SIGNING AND Q AND A

MAY 17TH 2017 - 7PM

BARNES AND NOBLE

THE GROVE

The Grove, 189 The Grove Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Come meet Deadpool and Cable creator Rob Liefeld as he signs Deadpool's first ever Graphic Novel "Deadpool: Bad Blood" on May 17th beginning with a Q and A at 7pm. (NOTE: only the OGN will be signed at this event. Wristbands will be available at Barnes and Noble beginning on May 14th.) All attendees will receive certificate of authenticity for Rob Liefeld's signature.

This new OGN written and drawn by Rob Liefeld with co-writers Chad Bowers and Chris Sims hits stores on May 17th 2017. Learn all about what’s in store for the Merc with a Mouth when new villain Thumper shows up to take his revenge- and just how are Cable and Domino involved?'

Everyone who attends the signing will receive a one-of-a-kind numbered certificate of authenticity provided by Rob and Key Collectables (below).

Joshua is IGN’s Comics Editor. If Pokemon, Green Lantern, or Game of Thrones are frequently used words in your vocabulary, you’ll want to follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl and IGN.